„Science for Evidence-based and sustainabLe decIsions about NAtural capital (SELINA)“, Nr. 101060415

Project No. 101060415
Project title: „Science for Evidence-based and sustainabLe decIsions about NAtural capital (SELINA)”
Project duration: from 2022-07-01 to 2027-06-30.
Project coordinator: The Leibniz University Hannover (Germany)
Project manager in MRU: prof. dr. Paulo Alexandre da Silva Pereira, paulo@mruni.eu
Other partners: STICHTING CAPITALS COALITION (Netherlands); ECOSTACK INNOVATIONS LIMITED (Malta); UNIVERSITA DEGLI STUDI DI TRENTO (Italy); PENSOFT PUBLISHERS (Bulgaria); OKOLOGIAI KUTATOKOZPONT (Hungary); ZNANSTVENORAZISKOVALNI CENTER SLOVENSKE AKADEMIJE ZNANOSTI IN UMETNOSTI (Slovenia); PANEPISTIMIO PATRON (Greece); SPACE4ENVIRONMENT SARL (Liuxembourg); NATIONAL INSTITUTE OF GEOPHYSICS GEODESY AND GEOGRAPHY – BULGARIAN ACADEMY OF SCIENCES (Bulgaria); UNIVERSIDAD REY JUAN CARLOS (Spain); PARIS-LODRON-UNIVERSITAT SALZBURG (Austria); UNIVERSITATEA DIN BUCURESTI (Romania); EIDGENOESSISCHE TECHNISCHE HOCHSCHULE ZUERICH (Switzerland); VLAAMSE INSTELLING VOOR TECHNOLOGISCH ONDERZOEK N.V. (Belgium); STICHTING VOOR DUURZAME ONTWIKKELING (Netherlands); BALTIJAS VIDES FORUMS (Latvia); WCMC LBG (United Kingdom); UNIWERSYTET IM. ADAMA MICKIEWICZA W POZNANIU (Poland); INSTITUT NATIONAL DE RECHERCHE POUR L’AGRICULTURE, L’ALIMENTATION ET L’ENVIRONNEMENT (France); KOBENHAVNS UNIVERSITET (Denmark); STIFTELSEN NORSK INSTITUTT FOR NATURFORSKNING NINA (Norway); EESTI MAAULIKOOL (Estonia); THE CYPRUS INSTITUTE (Cyprus); WAGENINGEN UNIVERSITY (Netherlands); SUOMEN YMPARISTOKESKUS (Finaland); USTAV VYZKUMU GLOBALNI ZMENY AV CR VVI (Czech Republic); SARVISION BV (Neterlands); MINISTRY OF ENVIRONMENT (Slovakia); FUNDACAO GASPAR FRUTUOSO (Portugal); Agentschap voor Natuur en Bos (Belgium); COMUNE DI TRENTO (Italy); LIETUVOS RESPUBLIKOS APLINKOS MINISTERIJA (Lituania); VIDES AIZSARDZIBAS UN REGIONALAS ATTISTIBAS MINISTRIJA (Latvia); South Atlantic Environmental Research Institute (United Kingdom); ASSOCIACAO BIOPOLIS (Portugal); UNIVERSITY OF HAIFA (Izrael); Cohab Initiative Secretariat Ltd. (Ireland); KUNGLIGA TEKNISKA HOEGSKOLAN (Sweeden); HRVATSKI SUMARSKI INSTITUT (Croatia); SEAcoop STP (Italy); Macroplan Ltd. (Bulgaria); UNIVERSITE DE LA REUNION (France); SPATIAL SERVICES GMBH (Austria); ASPLAN VIAK AS (Norway); MINISTERIO PARA LA TRANSICION ECOLOGICA Y EL RETO DEMOGRAFICO (Spain); Denkstatt Bulgaria OOD (Bulgaria); Cooperative Wolfs Company U.A. (Netherlands Antilles).

Summary: The importance of biodiversity and healthy ecosystems and the services they provide is increasingly recognised. Policy initiatives such as the European Union’s Biodiversity Strategies 2020 and 2030, IPBES, IPCC and CBD have been launched to address biodiversity, natural capital and associated values. Research has created a knowledge base to better understand the interactions between nature and people that underpin the provision of ecosystem services (ES). The main objective of the related actions is to provide reliable information that can be used to support the protection, restoration and sustainable and climate-neutral use of ecosystems by 2030. MAES has provided the conceptual, methodological and data basis for comprehensive assessments; at a variety of spatial scales, including an assessment of all ecosystem services (2020) and assessments in the European Union Member States. Knowledge and data on different types of ecosystems (including protected and marine areas) is increasingly available. The next step is to integrate the different components of MAES (ecosystem mapping, status, accounting) and to allow ecosystem services to be absorbed into decision making. Key challenges include demonstrating the relationship between biodiversity ecosystem status and ecosystem services and linking it to European Union policies. The Consortium brings together experts from all EU Member States, associated countries and EU overseas regions with stakeholders from a wide range of public and private sectors. The Consortium’s expertise consists of leading experts (ecologists, economists, social scientists) in ecosystem services science, ecosystem accounting and the science-policy-business interface. The project will therefore provide applicable tools and models and guidelines for their use. The project will provide realistic, evidence-based and coherent cases of ecosystem services decision-making across Europe, allowing to reverse the dynamics, halt the loss of biodiversity and ensure the essential sustainable supply and use of ecosystem services.

Project website: https://project-selina.eu/

The project is funded by the European Union HORIZON-RIA programme.